Milwaukee Bucks vs Utah Jazz 12/17/22 NBA Picks, Predictions, Odds

The Utah Jazz and the Milwaukee Bucks duke it out at the Fiserv Forum on Saturday night.

The Utah Jazz have been in good form as they’ve won five of their last eight games and they will be aiming for a third straight victory after sneaking past the Pelicans in a 132-129 overtime win on Thursday. Jordan Clarkson led the way with 39 points on 15 of 26 shooting, Lauri Markkanen added 31 points while Malik Beasley chipped in with 17 points off the bench. As a team, the Jazz shot 45 percent from the field and 18 of 47 from the 3-point line as they rallied back from an eight-point deficit in the fourth quarter to extend the game, before they restricted the Pelicans to just six points in overtime to escape with the win.

Meanwhile, the Milwaukee Bucks have won eight of their last 11 games overall and they will be eager to bounce back after getting completely embarrassed by the young Grizzlies in a 142-101 road loss on Thursday. Giannis Antetokounmpo led the way with 19 points, six rebounds and five assists, Bobby Portis added 19 points of his own while Jordan Nwora and AJ Green each scored 10 points. As a team, the Bucks shot just 37 percent from the field and 13 of 50 from the 3-point line as they didn’t match the intensity of the young Grizzlies early on and quickly found themselves trailing by 70-41 in the first half. The Bucks trailed in this one by as many as 50 points at one stage and Khris Middleton had himself a nightmare of a game as he finished with just three points on one of 12 shooting with four turnovers.

Looking at the betting trends, the Jazz are 6-2 ATS in their last eight games against a team with a winning record, 8-0 ATS in their last eight games against a team above .600 and 10-4 ATS in their last 14 games following an ATS win. The Bucks are 4-1 ATS in their last five home games, 4-1-2 ATS in their last seven games against a team with a winning record and 4-1 ATS in their last five games following a loss.

Head to head, the over is 7-3 in the last 10 meetings in Milwaukee, the Jazz are 6-2 ATS in the last eight meetings in Milwaukee and the Jazz are 30-9 ATS in the last 39 meetings overall.

The Jazz could be missing a couple of players as Collin Sexton has been ruled out, while Simone Fontecchio is listed as questionable, while the Bucks have already ruled out Khris Middleton for this one. The Jazz are coming into this game with plenty of confidence after beating the red-hot Pelicans twice in a row, but it’s going to be tough to replicate that effort against the Bucks who are coming off the worst loss of the season. The Bucks also have a couple players returning as Serge Ibaka and Jrue Holiday are probable to play, so I’ll back the Bucks here.